Gas pipeline blast burns rubber plantation

May 19, 2007

Sat 19 May 2007
Fri 23 Mar 2007, HURFOM
The bane of people in Mon State, the Burmese military juntaâ€™s unsafe gas pipeline, from Kanbauk- Myaingkalay (Yadana Gas Pipeline) has exploded yet again, destroying 150 plants in an acre of rubber plantation seven miles from Ye Town.

An eye witness said, about 150 plants which have already produced rubber sap were incinerated and the plants surrounding these turned brown due to the fire when the pipe broke at a joint of two sections and exploded.

SPDC usually accuses armed groups of being involved in the blasts in the past. There was no clear evidence that suggests which arm groups were involved in the latest blast. Most explosions occur where two pipe sections break up. Usually this is caused by pipeline engineers not providing good enough connections between sections of the pipe.

The explosion occurred on March 18, at 4 p.m. and the fire was put out at midnight after firemen arrived from Ye town.

After the joint was repaired the next day, villagers from 9 miles Village (close to Ye township) were forced to cover the pipe, the eye witness said. There was no compensation paid to the rubber plant owner following the blast, he added.

The gas project is based in Kanbauk (Yebyu Towhship) and the State Peace and Development Councilâ€™s target is to sell gas to Thailand. But some of the gas is transported to Myaingkalay cement factory, in Karen State from Kanbauk Yebyu Township.

Even though the gas pipeline which flows to Thailand is covered, the section through Kanbauk to Myaingkaly under SPDC management often breaks and explodes. It has happened many times in the past year.

The blasts affect the lives of local villagers. They also have to guard stretches of the pipeline day and night depending on the situation and the rules set by the authorities from time to time.

For instance, the gas pipeline exploded in Kwan-hlar village on February 2, last year and the residents living along the pipeline including Kwan-hlar, Young-doung, Hnee-padaw, Doe-mar, Kalawthut, and other villages in Mudon Township have had to guard the pipe line both in the day and at night time for one year now. They also have to make monthly payments to the village peace and development council for local security guards.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News